Three major US cell carriers have gotten their mobile payment Voltron on, creating ISIS—a new service that will let you use your phone as you would a credit or debit card for purchases. But that's just the start.

ISIS will be, the carriers claim, more than just a debit card replacement—packing rewards cards, coupons, and even public transit cards into your phone, via the magic of Near Field Communications (short-range blasts of radio data). The carriers hope to open up ISIS to their combined 200 million customers in "key geographic markets" over the next 18 months. So, it could be a while before ISIS shopping hits your town, but the mere fact that these companies are cooperating on something is sort of neat unto itself. [ISIS via BGR]